That’s what Splintered Sunrise thinks, because since the split in Respect the SWP side of the story has gotten a much more sympathetic airing in the media than the Galloway side:
George Galloway, on the other hand, is quite a different kettle of fish. I have my own serious reservations about George, but there’s no gainsaying the fact that the media are out to get George, and for reasons that have nothing to do with my reservations. Indeed, they’re after him for his good points. Let’s be honest, George, whether we like it or not, is just about the most recognisable face of the antiwar movement. He’s one of the most articulate critics of New Labour. He has that extremely important connection with the working-class Asian population in the East End. Lord help us, he’s a serious asset to our side as well as being an incorrigible loose cannon.
All this should be fairly obvious. If the SWP side in the split is getting puff jobs in the media, not to mention acquiring the critical support of Harry’s Place and the Alliance for Workers Liberty, that’s not an accident. These guys have a clear sense of priorities. There are of course other factors – Private Eye’s repeated snarky references to the Asian element of Respect gel with the sort of casual racism one expects from the Eye – but in the end it comes down to priorities. Using the SWP as a cat’s paw against Galloway is using a sprat to catch a whale.
The point here is not who was at fault in the acrinomious split of Respect last year, but whether the SWP is letting itself used to attack a former ally who they might now have issues with, but who is still far preferable to the people trying to bring him down, still nominally socialist. This split has not been easy to either of the parties involved, so I can understand the temptation to lash out, but it’s a good rule of thumb for any socialist not to give your real opponents ammunition to bring down fellow leftists. Not that the SWP is the only one to have given in to this temptation, as a casual perusal of Socialist Unity shows. there are plenty of people on the left who hate the SWP as well and they have not always been discreet. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should never speak ill of fellow lefties, genuine political differences or real cases of abuse should not be hidden, but the sort of gloating you sometimes find about the SWP’s (or other organisations) troubles isn’t helpful.